Angry parents will stage a march in protest against the threatened closure of a school for the visually-impaired.

They will hold the demonstration this week in a bid to persuade Bradford Council to drop plans to shut Temple Bank School in Daisy Hill Lane, Bradford.

A new Parents' Action Group has been formed to oppose the move.

More than 20 parents, many of whom did not know about the proposed closure until they read about it in the Telegraph & Argus, attended its inaugural meeting.

Among the pupils at the school is Nicholas Killen, 12, whose bravery touched the nation when he lost his sight to cancer six years ago. His mum Susan, of Victoria Road, Saltaire, is opposing the closure plans and wants to keep her son at Temple Bank until he reaches school leaving age.

As well as organising the march next Saturday, the parents' action group has arranged a public meeting tonight (7.15pm) at the school, which will be attended by Council officers and head teacher Rick Neal.

Carol Hodson, of Wensley Avenue, Shipley, whose seven-year-old daughter Elspeth is a pupil at Temple Bank, is one of the co-ordinators of the protest campaign.

If the school was closed, pupils would be moved into mainstream or special schools.

But she says Temple Bank is the ideal environment for children with visual impairments who would be prone to bullying in mainstream schools.

"I don't care what the Council says. I don't believe they will give other schools, and special schools in particular, enough support for children with visual impairments," said Mrs Hodson.

Cindy Mitchell, who lives in Queensbury, said parents were shocked and upset to hear about moves to close the school.

"I was taking my little girl to school and I found out from a taxi driver," she said.

"We got a list of phone numbers of parents and when we started ringing them half of them knew nothing about it."

Mrs Mitchell said her five-year-old daughter Lexi had made great progress during her time at Temple Bank.

"Our children are coming on really well. I was told that Lexi would never walk and would never do anything - but now she's talking and standing up and I really put it down to Temple Bank," she said.

The Parents' Action Group hopes to have at least 100 people taking part in the march on Saturday. It will set off from the school at 1pm and head for Forster Square. A petition is also being circulated which Mrs Hodson plans to hand over to Government officials at Westminster. The final decision on the future of the school rests with Education Secretary David Blunkett.

The Council is looking at the future of Temple Bank because of falling rolls and the increasing emphasis on increasing special needs pupils in mainstream education.

Councillor Jim Flood, education committee chairman, said today he was open to persuasion that the school should stay open.

"What matters is not the volume of objection but the quality of the argument. We have fairly solid reasons for reviewing the school's future but if it turns out that our hypothesis is faulty and parents provide us with good arguments then we will listen to that.''

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